Christmas Open House brings out smiling faces

The jingling of bells announced visitors from the North Pole at the 19th Annual Christmas Open House on Sunday.

BY REBEKAH CANSLER MCGEEThe Dispatch

BY REBEKAH CANSLER MCGEEThe Dispatch

The jingling of bells announced visitors from the North Pole at the 19th Annual Christmas Open House on Sunday. As a gust of wind swept the smell of roasting chestnuts across the streets of Lexington, Santa and Mrs. Claus rode into the Square from the majesty of a horse-drawn carriage. “(Christmas Open House) is just magical. The day is pure magic,” said Mrs. Claus (Gwinnie Smith).Children of all ages scuttled about, some hopping from foot to foot as they waited in line to tell Santa their Christmas wishes.“I want a pogo stick and no clothes,” said Landon Queen, 5.His trip to The Candy Factory awarded him a hat as tall as himself created from multicolored balloons. Landon, a rambunctious boy with quite the imagination, soon found the balloon hat to be too tame for his taste. Like a gallant knight protecting his land, he swung the tall hat like a sword, eventually popping a few of the noodle-shaped balloons.To get the boy to stand still for even a few seconds proved to be a task. When asked if he was having fun, he responded, “You betcha I am!”But fun and wonder was not only to be had by Landon. Neida Ramirez, 7, stood in line, waiting for her first horse-drawn carriage ride. Before the day was over, she would visit Santa to tell him she wanted an Easy Bake Oven.“We come every year to see Santa,” said her mother, Sarah Ramirez. “I like being outside and getting into the Christmas spirit.”Pictures with Santa and storytelling with Mrs. Claus were undeniably an important moment of the day for children. After hesitation and silently counting, Smith reported this was about her 10th year entertaining the children. Santa (Paul Warfford) was new to the uptown scene although with his full white beard, extra padding and jovial personality, it wasn’t his first time being Santa for other organizations.“I enjoy doing this for the kids,” Warfford said. Saturday he dressed up and went to a breakfast event as Santa. In the past, he has donned his costume, climbed into a red Pontiac Trans Am and “hit the drive-thru at the bank.” Warfford said he likes making people smile. The elves, Karstyn Orrell, Marisa Drake, Carson Everhart and Sarah Rigaud, were all participants of the Lexington Youth Theatre. Their velvet vests and hats kept their upper body warm, but the temperature’s chill was getting through the thin fabric of the candy-cane striped leggings.“It’s OK. We told everyone (Saturday) night (at the Light That Tree Spectacular) that we were used to it because it was a lot colder at the North Pole,” Everhart said.“We joked it was so warm we could almost get a suntan,” Drake added with a smile.With a slight nip in the air, Victorian carolers from Thomasville’s Rich Fork Baptist Church and Christmas characters such as gingerbread men and the Grinch wandered around uptown Lexington marking the beginning of the Christmas season. Every so often while strolling around town, Snoopy, the Grinch, Cat in the Hat and gingerbread men would stop, stoop slightly and smile at a camera as children bound into the street for a shared photo.“It just feels like a Christmas spirit is in the air,” said Jo Ellen Edwards, Uptown Lexington Inc. executive director. One little boy, not quite ready to give into the Christmas holiday, wore an Indian headdress made from paper. He stood close to a stage by himself and wiggled to the sounds of The Gathering Band. “It’s great to see people going in and out of stores. Just look at how cool and busy it is uptown,” Edwards added. “It makes us feel like we’re doing something good.”As people filled the streets and crowds at each activity began to appear, one little girl, Marley Phelps, 2, was worried about getting to see Santa. She was afraid he would leave before she made it through the line of people.“I want to give him a hug,” Marley said. Her Christmas wish was for a baby doll, but she repeated she just wanted to hug Santa. As she walked away, toward The Candy Factory, she shouted the season’s apropos farewell.“Merry Christmas!”

Rebekah Cansler McGee can be reached at 249-3981 ext. 228 or rebekah.mcgee@the-dispatch.com.